A 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked northeastern Japan today, causing the Japanese Meteorological Agency to issue a tsunami warning. It struck about 170 miles off the east coast. A spokesman for Tohoku Electric Power, which operates two nuclear power plants in the area, said they were unaffected.

The tsunami hit the eastern coastline later but no reports of damage have been filed as of yet. Local residents were warned to evacuate well before the wave struck. Early reports say the waves hit two locations in Aomori, which was one of the most devastated areas in last year’s tragedy, in which an 8.9 magnitude quake caused a tsunami which claimed over 19,000 lives and was declared Japan’s worst post-war disaster.

The quake comes just three days after the one-year anniversary of that disaster, and on Sunday the cities of Japan were silent as families remembered the losses suffered in the disaster. Last year Google used their Street View cars to compile before and after pictures of the areas struck by the tsunami, and the results were staggering. As a good many people affected are still trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, many here in the states and beyond are offering prayers and thoughts to Japan.